


Assorted Tumblr Shorts Crosspost Extravaganza

by paralogism



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, I apologise for my poor dialogue formatting, because writing long things is tiring, definite lack of quality, probable lack of quantity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-08-18 20:33:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 10,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8175070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paralogism/pseuds/paralogism
Summary: Shameless cross-advertising: https://nicoismywaifu.tumblr.com/Ship count so that you don't get false hope from the tags:KotoUmi x 7.5 Gen x 3 NicoMaki x 2 HonoUmi x 1.5 NozoNico x 1 (involves washi-washi'ing) NozoKoto x 1 (also involves washi-washi'ing)





	1. KotoUmi - Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Kotoweek Day 1. Prompt: Birthday
> 
> In which Kotori worries about the future.

Birthdays typically evoke thoughts of cake, presents and some good company. But for Kotori Minami, something else was on her mind as September 12 progressed for another year.

She realized that, eventually, things would peter out; that as the years progressed, her friends would become more dispersed and distant as they chased their own futures far away from Otonokizaka. Nico, Nozomi and Eli would be the first to go, and their graduation date inexorably grew closer. After that; it would fall to herself and her childhood friends that she cherished more than anything else to begin slowly disappearing from each other’s lives. And then? No more celebrations, no more time together, no more of the shared moments which one remembers so fondly. Could they still call themselves friends after that happened?

Despite her distinct feeling of melancholy, she wore the mask of happiness that she had become accustomed to. It was a skill she wished she never had. She could fool the world, it seemed, but there was no fooling herself. She could never delude herself into thinking that things would somehow magically get better, and yet there was no-one who noticed the struggle taking place in her mind. That was how her party in the clubroom with the rest of μ’s came to pass, a fake smile plastered on her face saved the awkwardness which might have otherwise prevailed if anyone knew how she truly felt.

It eventually became too much, too exhausting to retain the façade. She excused herself with the same smile, but allowed a small sigh to escape. However, someone quickly followed her out of the room.

‘Kotori, is something wrong?’ Kotori’s smile changed; much softer, but genuine this time. ‘What gave it away, Umi-chan?’ she quietly asked. 

‘I can tell when something’s bothering you. We’re childhood friends after all.’ 

So her mask had at least one crack. There was someone who noticed all along. Kotori tightly embraced the blue-haired girl.

‘I’m scared, Umi-chan. What happens when we all go our separate ways? What happens when we all can’t get together like this anymore? Will we all still be friends?’

There was a pause before Umi replied. 

‘Then that would be a shame, Kotori. But if that happens, that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped caring; that we’ve stopped thinking about each other. Nothing could ever change the things we’ve done together. Nothing could erase those memories and feelings that we all share. Because of that, we’ll always be friends. All of us.’

Kotori gasped, amazed that Umi could address her fears so easily. ‘That’s amazing, Umi-chan! How did you come up with that so quickly?’

Umi rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. ‘I, um… I think about the same thing a lot, actually.’

Kotori giggled. ‘So I’m not alone, after all.’ The other girl smiled fondly. ‘You never were, Kotori.’


	2. KotoUmi - Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Kotoweek Day 2. Prompt: Music.
> 
> In which Umi reveals the secret behind 'Sweet and Sweet Holiday'.

‘Kotori, what are you listening to?’ Kotori looked up at Umi in confusion. They were studying together in Kotori’s room, and had some music playing quietly in the background. The song playing was especially familiar to Kotori, hence her surprise that Umi needed to ask. ‘It’s Sweet and Sweet Holiday, one of our songs. Why?’ ‘Ah.’ Umi nodded impassively. ‘I haven’t listened to it in a while, so I didn’t recognise it.’ Kotori furrowed her eyebrows. ‘Do you not like the song?’

‘It’s just that the lyrics are…’ Umi paused, searching for the right words. ‘“Chocolate is delicious? So are macarons?” Not exactly poetic.’ Kotori crossed her arms in a huff at the criticism; being the song’s centre meant that it was particularly special to her. ‘You’re the one who wrote those lyrics though, Umi-chan.’ Umi shook her head. ‘My name might be on them, but I didn’t write them. You did, and you forced me into using them.’

A mischievous smile found its way to Kotori’s lips as she decided to quickly get some payback for the unjust treatment. She moved across the table to sit right next to Umi, before asking with an incredibly insincere attempt at innocence, ‘How exactly did I force you into using them, Umi-chan?’ The blue-haired girl blushed. ‘You did the usual thing.’ Kotori coyly fluttered her eyelids. ‘I don’t understand. What did I do, Umi-chan?’ She leaned towards Umi, being close enough to see Umi’s features twitching.

‘You… you’re teasing me aren’t you?’ Kotori giggled. ‘Of course!’ Umi sighed in exasperation with the other girl’s antics. ‘Kotori, you’re so unfair sometimes.’

‘Was it something like this?’ Kotori brought her hand over her chest and put on those big, puppy-dog eyes, causing Umi to groan, ‘Don’t do it.’ ‘Do what, Umi-chan?’ ‘What I know you’re about to do.’ ‘Umi-chan,’ Kotori yelled out dramatically, ‘onegai!’ She then couldn’t contain her laughter at the glum look on the other girl’s face.

‘I’m done for today.’ Umi placed her pen on the desk and began to pack her things. ‘Umi-chan, I was just joking! Please help me study!’


	3. Kotori solo - Autumn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Kotoweek Day 3. Prompt: Autumn.
> 
> I'd write a summary, but it'd probably be longer than the story itself...

The cool breeze effortlessly whirled the fallen foliage as Kotori trekked home from school alone. Her regular companions, Honoka and Umi, were otherwise preoccupied. To be more accurate, Umi made some uncomfortably realistic threats to Honoka about what would be done to her if she slacked off from studying again, with the ginger-haired girl sensibly agreeing to be tutored by Umi in the student council room after their work that Autumn afternoon.

Leaves which once hung proudly from their branches now suffered the ignominy of being crushed and splintered underfoot. But this, of course, was only natural. They fell into the cycle of life, death and rebirth like every other living thing. They changed as they darkened and withered, but this simply added another hue of colour to the vast splendour only manifest in that time of transition. Those same leaves would then become the roots of something else, as they always did.

The trees were not the only things in a state of flux. As both individuals and a collective, μ’s remained working towards the creation of their own future. Like the Autumn leaves, μ’s might now have been closer to the end than the start. But just the same, there would always be something new and different for them to look forward to afterwards. The natural surroundings were all the proof Kotori needed of that fact.

She hummed to herself, quietly inspired at the scenery. ‘Change, huh?’ She pulled out her trusty notebook. ‘Maybe I can use this in my fashion designs…’


	4. KotoUmi - Nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Kotoweek Day 4. Prompt: Nature.
> 
> In which Kotori accompanies Umi on a mountaineering trip.

‘Umi-chan, how much further is it?’ ‘Not far now, Kotori.’ The blue-haired girl was wearing her favourite straw hat and carried a hiking pack from her shoulders, whilst Kotori clutched a laden picnic basket. Apparently, the view from one of the local mountaintops was worth the arduous trek, with Kotori being the only one brave enough to accompany the notoriously serious mountaineer on a rare day off.

Kotori was panting slightly at the long climb. Even though she was well and truly in the best shape of her life given μ’s usual training routine, the steep climb was not to be taken lightly. Of course, Umi didn’t so much as break a sweat, given the fact that she had been subject to even more strenuous regimens for most of her life. Umi noticed the other girl beginning to slow her pace.

‘Kotori, are you okay? We can take a short break, since we’re nearly there.’ ‘It’s okay, Umi-chan.’ Kotori quietly replied, but there was determination in her eyes. Umi smiled; Kotori always had that unexpectedly stubborn side to her. ‘Very well, then.’

After a few more minutes of struggle, they eventually reached the plateaued mountaintop. Kotori sank to her knees and gasped in exhaustion, whilst Umi placed a comforting arm around her shoulders and readied a water bottle. She allowed Kotori to restore her oxygen levels before they gazed out over the edge together to see the scenery below, and it did not disappoint.

‘Nice view, isn’t it?’ Umi asked her companion. ‘It sure is.’ Kotori agreed, except she was looking at Umi with a fond smile as she said that. The blue-haired girl choked on the water she was drinking. ‘Kotori,’ she wheezed, ‘that’s really cliché, you know?’ Kotori pouted. ‘I mean it, though.’

Umi eventually managed to stammer out a response. ‘K-Kotori also looks nice today.’ The blue-haired girl was then softly enveloped within Kotori’s arms, and she had no complaints at this.


	5. KotoUmi (kinda) - Fashion: attempt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Kotoweek Day 5. Prompt: Fashion.
> 
> In which Kotori makes skirts which are entirely too short.

‘Umm, Kotori…’ ‘Yes, Umi-chan?’ ‘I know I say this every time, but isn’t this skirt a bit too short?’ Kotori took a step backwards to better admire her handiwork adorning the blue-haired girl, smiling in satisfaction. ‘It looks good to me.’

Eli spoke up, ‘I’d have to agree with Umi on this. They seem shorter than usual.’ ‘T-They certainly are short…’ Hanayo nervously concurred, not relishing the prospect of performing in the prepared clothing. There was a squeal of disbelief. ‘They barely cover half of Rin’s thighs, nya?’

‘What are you talking about? Idols need to have some sex appeal, after all.’ Nico’s words did not match her actions, quietly blushing in embarrassment from wearing the skimpy outfit. Maki similarly turned to bravado to cover her bashfulness. ‘I agree, but the skirt is wasted on Nico-chan, since her legs are already tiny like her.’ ‘What did you just say, you tomato fetishist?’ The incendiary pair glared at each other as the others sighed at the familiar routine.

Honoka was forlornly lying on the floor as she muttered to herself in despair. ‘I thought we were friends, Kotori-chan.’ ‘Honoka, it’s not Kotori’s fault you ate too much bread and it went straight to your calves.’ ‘You’re so mean, Umi-chan!’ Whilst Honoka wailed in anguish at being admonished, Umi simply shrugged her shoulders and turned to face the group’s designer instead. ‘Kotori, was this really necessary?’

Kotori regretfully placed her head in her hands. ‘I’m so sorry, everyone! I just really wanted everyone to see how cute you all are, so I tried my hardest…’ The room went silent except for the sound of quiet sobbing. Nozomi reproached Umi softly, ‘Aww, look what you’ve done, Umi-chan.’ Honoka agreed, ‘You’re awful, Umi-chan.’ Umi gaped in shock. ‘How is this is my fault?’

Honoka replied bitterly, ‘You were being terrible to your best friends, after all.’ ‘Honoka, you did the same thing a few moments ago! Wait, you’re still mad about the calves thing?’ Nozomi gently placed her hand on Umi’s shoulder and offered her a motherly look. ‘Umi-chan, please. You did start this, you know.’

Umi sighed deeply, giving in to both the purple-haired girl and the inevitability of wearing such scant amounts of clothing. ‘I’m sorry, Kotori. The dresses are shamele-, I mean, cute as always. Let’s put on a good performance in them, okay?’ Kotori very quickly wiped away her crocodile tears as she joyfully stated, ‘Sure thing, Umi-chan!’ Umi gasped upon realizing the deception, and Kotori smiled at her smugly.

Kotori enjoyed the fact that she didn’t need to resort to the longer backup dresses she had also prepared. A bit of fan service certainly wouldn’t hurt μ’s popularity. However, she was mainly glad that she had succeeded in her true goal, and could now stare at Umi’s sumptuous legs as much as she wanted to. This would something to save in her mind forever. Or rather, be captured by the several photographers she had stationed at the front of the concert earlier, who also received detailed instructions about opportune moments in their choreography.

μ’s shared in what was a seemingly touching moment of reconciliation. Well, except for Umi, who instead held a deep sense of dread about what might happen next. Kotori was truly frightening sometimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, so many adverbs. I'm definitely not against using them, but some variety would've been nice. It would've made me think harder about sentence structure as well, and make things flow a little more.


	6. KotoUmi - Fashion: Attempt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Kotoweek Day 5. Prompt: Fashion.
> 
> I was kinda split between ideas, so I wrote them both. They share a few similarities though.
> 
> In which Kotori convinces Umi to wear a really short skirt.

Competition for Love Live was fierce, and μ’s needed every advantage that they could get in order to maintain their lead in the popularity polls. Kotori knew that there was something that she could do as the resident fashionista, as she decided to grab the easy fan service votes by making their skirts tastefully shorter than usual. There was just one entirely predictable problem with this plan which needed to be dealt with.

‘I can’t accept this! It’s shameless, Kotori!’ ‘Umi-chan, please?’ Umi vigorously shook her head. ‘That won’t work this time, Kotori. This is well and truly over the line.’

Kotori sighed at the expected response, but she was not deterred. She switched to the backup plan.

‘You know, I made these skirts really special this time, Umi-chan.’ Umi tilted her head quizzically. ‘How so?’ ‘I put all of my love into making them.’ The other girl gawped in disbelief. ‘L-Love?!’

Kotori smiled brightly as she continued, ‘Of course, Umi-chan. I love all the members of μ’s so much, so I really tried my hardest this time to make something which shows everyone just how much I care.’ Umi was touched by the sentiment. ‘Kotori…’

‘There’s also a second thing which makes these skirts special, Umi-chan. Please take a look at the inside.’ Umi clasped the skirt between her hands, peering inside from the top of the skirt before making a surprised face.

‘Did you see them, Umi-chan?’ Umi questioned, ‘Why did you sew all those hearts into our skirts, Kotori?’ ‘Again, I wanted to show you and everyone in μ’s that I love them a lot.’ This caught the other girl off-guard. She was almost afraid to ask the next question. ‘What do you, l-l-love about me, Kotori?’

‘I love that you’re the one who always gets us to try our best all the time.’ Kotori giggled as she continued, ‘You are kinda strict, after all.’ The blue-haired girl became as flustered as Kotori expected, as she averted her gaze downwards in embarrassment. ‘That’s not the greatest compliment, but thanks.’

‘And also… Umi-chan’s always been a very special friend to me, and I really love that as well.’ Umi looked up to see those bright yellow eyes looking squarely into her own, as Kotori pulled her into a soft embrace to demonstrate that fact.

Umi finally broke the hug when she said, ‘It can’t be helped. I’ll wear the skirt, but only because it’d be a shame not to. You put a lot of effort into it, and I won’t waste that.’ Kotori cheered gleefully, and Umi smiled sweetly in response.

‘Just… don’t do this again, okay?’ ‘Of course, Umi-chan!’ Once was enough for Kotori. She had already ensured that there would be several photographers standing at the front of the next concert, with their cameras aimed at a certain blue-haired girl (and her sumptuous legs).


	7. KotoUmi - Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Kotoweek Day 6. Prompt: Love.
> 
> In which Kotori realizes that she might, in fact, be in love.

Kotori still hadn’t fallen in love. There was nothing unusual about that. Otonokizaka was an all-girls school after all, thus preventing the typical shoujo manga boy-meets-girl-at-school-and-they-get-together-after-some-mildly-entertaining-shenanigans trope from ever occurring. It would require something different for her.

At Otonokizaka itself, one side effect of being a massively popular school idol meant that there was no shortage of suitors who attempted to place their feelings onto paper, into envelopes and then cram said envelopes into her shoe locker. It was either that or try finding opportune moments to offer date proposals on the rare occasions she was not accompanied by Honoka or Umi.

The letters all went unresponded, the proposals all gently rejected. It wasn’t that those girls were dishonest; they just lacked a certain sincerity, a certain commitment. They were either not brave enough to confront her directly with their feelings, or too easily put off by the presence of her childhood friends (although she could sympathise with people not wanting to cross Umi). Most of those girls would obviously send similar letters to other members of μ’s that they also fancied. It was clear that that those girls held feelings closer to admiration or awe; flattering in their own right, but not love.

Kotori still hadn’t fallen in love. So why was it that her thoughts now constantly drifted off to a certain stoic, blue-haired girl? Why was it that she could always recall the warmth of her touch, the scent of her hair, the unique feel of the callouses on her fingers due to the repeated friction of a bow string?

That girl would stop everything else and run to her if she ever got into trouble. That girl would gladly stand in front of her and shield her from anything, no matter what harm it would cause herself. Knowing those things filled Kotori with a curious sensation in her chest.

Kotori might actually have fallen in love a long time ago. She had certainly fallen in love now. She hoped that she would be brave enough to convey those feelings properly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is love, really? Even when I wrote this, I thought most members of μ’s would protect and help each other without thinking of themselves. Most, not all (and that's not a criticism, just a reflection of their background and character.)
> 
> I'm never happy with the other things on the 'proper' love stories that I've written, so they stay on my hard drive and invite immediate regret when I read them. That's why this one was an introspection - easier for me to write. Especially during a week in which you're meant to be writing essays and preparing for exams...


	8. KotoUmi - Together Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Kotoweek Day 7. Prompt: Together Forever.
> 
> Again, writing a summary would probably be longer than the story itself.

When the offer came, I was happy. The opportunity rarely comes once, yet alone twice. I accepted it gratefully because I knew then it was the only thing I wanted to do.

But when the time to leave you came, I was worried. Worried at leaving you behind and making the same mistakes I made before. Worried at the distance which would separate us; worried that it might stretch the bonds we spent so much time creating. The bonds which tied me to you. The bonds that made me truly happy.

That’s why I was crying when you found me; when you held me and told me that everything would be okay. You said that you’d miss me, but that I still had to go. Because that was what I had to do. Because that would make both of us happy afterwards. You told me that you’d be there when I came back. And then you said the thing I’ll never forget.

You told me that we’d be together forever, and I believed you without a second thought.

I still believe you, Umi-chan. I’ll be back soon, I promise.


	9. HonoUmi - Kabedon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See chapter title.

A slender, yet toned arm pushes past Honoka’s head and slams against the wall behind her. Her eyes widen in surprise as her assailant leans in uncomfortably close and towers over her. She finds herself trapped within a glare of brown eyes which freezes her utterly. It’s the last person she would have ever expected to pull off such an act. 

‘U-Umi-chan?’

Umi hisses with vehemence, ‘Do you know how many times you’ve angered me, Honoka? Have you ever listened to a word that I’ve said?’ Honoka shrinks into the wall as far as she can before she squeals in terror, ‘I’m so sorry, Umi-chan!’

The blue-haired girl shakes her head. ‘Not good enough, Honoka. Not after everything you’ve done to me. I’m going to take now what I’ve always wanted from you.’ Honoka gulps. ‘W-What’s that?’ She can feel the breath from the other girl run gently across her nose as she says, ‘Your lips, Honoka.’

The ginger-haired girl lets out a small squeak and reflexively closes her eyes. She braces and waits for the inevitable contact. She waits a bit more. 

Eventually, she realizes that five minutes is too long to wait and carefully opens her eyes. She looks in surprise to find Umi now dejectedly huddling in a corner of the classroom.

‘Um, Umi-chan?’ Honoka asks in bewilderment, ‘Are you okay?’ Umi glumly shakes her head before burying it within her hands. ‘Shameless! Absolutely shameless! I can’t believe I let Kotori talk me into doing this!’ ‘Doing what, Umi-chan?’ Umi stammers as her embarrassment catches up with her. ‘She said that this was a popular way to get a k-k-kiss, and now I’ve ruined it.’

Honoka places a gentle hand on Umi’s shoulder. ‘You didn’t ruin anything, Umi-chan. You were amazing.’ Umi looks at Honoka in surprise. ‘Honoka, you like that kind of thing?’ Honoka giggles. ‘My heart was racing. You were really cool, Umi-chan.’ Hope quickly flashes in Umi’s eyes. ‘T-Then maybe we should try again?’ A sly grin creeps to Honoka’s lips. ‘Okay, we’ll try again.’

She quickly walks over to Umi, not stopping as their bodies press against each other. Umi retreats from the pressure, but Honoka has revenge on her mind. 

A surprisingly firm arm pushes past Umi’s head and slams against the wall behind her. Umi nearly faints as Honoka brings her face inches from Umi’s whilst staring at her with those blue eyes. Honoka might be slightly shorter than Umi, but she’s still enough to intimidate her with their proximity. Their noses brush, and Umi squeaks. It’s almost too much for her to bear as the other girl gives her a sultry whisper.

‘Hey, Umi-chan.’ ‘W-W-What is it, Honoka?’ Honoka flashes her trademark smile. ‘I’ve always wanted to kiss you, too.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I read them back for the umpteenth time I thought I'd leave a critique of things which I think should be improved, both for my own future reference before I forget, and for other people. It also preemptively cuts off some criticism! (I'm joking. Please leave any feedback, notes or death threats that you wish.)
> 
> This one stands out as one which could be tweaked. The eighth paragraph is pretty mechanical, and doesn't flow very well. 
> 
> Honoka did something. Honoka said something. Umi did something. Umi said something. That trend continues across the whole paragraph. I should've broken the trend somewhere by coming up with something else, which would have made things more natural.
> 
> Might've taken some liberties with Umi's characterisation, but it was probably the only way for the situation to occur in the first place. I went for the image in my head rather than accuracy.


	10. NicoMaki - Music Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico gets a lesson from Maki.

Diligent as ever, Maki was working on her technical skills in the school music room. Chopin. Etude Opus 10-12 “Revolutionary”. Not for the faint of heart. 

Painstakingly practiced at home bar by bar, she was now ready, though still carrying some trepidation, to try and put the pieces together and extract something beautiful from the school piano. Fleet fingers and utmost concentration were required. A quick breath to settle herself. Fingers arched above the keys began their downward movement. 

‘Hey, Maki-chan!’

There was the sound of two simultaneous crashes. One from Maki’s head onto the piano at the loud interruption. The other being the awful cacophony which resonated from said piano owing to Maki’s action. The intruder was unimpressed. 

‘Wow. That sounded terrible, Maki-chan.’ ‘And whose fault is that, Nico-chan?’ ‘Yours, for attempting to play the piano with your forehead?’ ‘No; yours for ruining my concentration.’ Nico shrugged. ‘Whatever.’

‘To what do I owe the pleasure of your annoyance?’ Nico crossed her arms in a huff. ‘Is that really any way to talk to your girlfriend who loves you very much?’ ‘When they ruin Chopin, then yes.’ Nico sighed at how much Maki liked that dead guy. 

‘Fine. I’m really sorry, Maki-chan. I’ll do anything you want.’ Maki gave the cliché response. ‘Anything?’ ‘Yes, anything. Lewd, humiliating, destructive; I’d do it all for Maki-chan.’ Maki cringed at how easily her girlfriend would suggest such things, with Nico giggling at Maki’s bashfulness. 

‘You’re imagining something really risqué, aren’t you?’ ‘O-Of course not!’ Maki’s reply was a little too loud. Nico happily rattled off a list of ideas. ‘A really dangerous swimsuit for Maki-chan’s eyes only? The infamous naked apron? Or maybe you just want the bare Nico-chan and want to do awful things to her? Nico-Nii will do her best, even if she’s a little scared.’ 

Something within Maki snapped. Nico was always teasing her, after all. Always saying whatever the hell she wanted. It was time to take up Nico on her offer. ‘Fine then.’ 

Nico noticed the change in atmosphere and now had some genuine fears for her bodily integrity. ‘W-Wait, Maki-chan?’ Maki grabbed Nico’s wrists and harshly pinned them against the wall. ‘You said anything, right?’ ‘Y-Yeah, but…’ ‘Then you only have yourself to blame, Nico-chan.’ 

Maki brought her lips to meet Nico’s, forcing Nico’s mouth open with her tongue. Nico barely resisted, and her wrists quickly went limp. Maki refused to let Nico take a breath, jamming herself against Nico and pressing her tongue further into her throat until she was satisfied. That took quite a while. A strand of saliva remained arced between their tongues even as they eventually separated from each other.

Nico was completely out of stamina, and had to take deep breaths between the words she forced out. ‘Where... on Earth… did you learn to kiss like that, Maki-chan?’ Maki kept silent as she too caught her breath. She didn’t want to say that she did it from being forced over the edge by Nico’s teasing. That seemed perverse. It might also encourage her even further. 

‘Don’t tell me, is Maki-chan cheating on me?’ Nico was being facetious again. Someone clearly needed another lesson. ‘Okay, time for round two.’ ‘What?!’

‘You said you’d do anything, right?’ ‘No, wait! Maki-chan!’ Maki momentarily left a fearful Nico to lock the heavy door to the music room. A different type of music would be created in the room that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe should've worked in some extra dialogue before Maki's snap to make it slightly more convincing, but, y'know. Lazy. 3am. It looked good enough then, and obsessing to perfection kinda misses the point of both writing itself and writing something so quickly. It's difficult to get the balance between keeping it sharp or simply under explaining things. My point in doing these is to try and get the feeling of what writing should feel like, and see what works and what doesn't by ramming my head against the wall a few too many times. Well, that's what I tell myself...
> 
> Oh, and the Chopin piece comes from my trusty score book of piano pieces which I swore to practice from a long time ago. There were a few etudes in the book, so I listened to them and picked what seemed most difficult.


	11. NozoNico - Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico learns the wonders of the washi-washi.

‘Quit it, Nozomi!’ ‘Still no change, Nicocchi. How disappointing.’ ‘Probably doesn’t help when you’re crushing them all the time!’ ‘How rude. The washi-washi is a time honoured technique.’ ‘Did it seriously make yours bigger?’ ‘Of course!’ ‘Oh. T-Then…’ ‘Then take this, Nicocchi!’ ‘Argh! Nozomi!’

Nico managed to extricate herself from Nozomi’s clutches after some frantic wriggling. The cost was yet another cardigan having its material become suspiciously frayed around the chest region. That was a price Nico was very willing to pay to end Nozomi’s vicious onslaughts.

‘Why do you always grope me so much; you pervert?!’ ‘Because I like Nicocchi’s most of all?’ Nozomi innocently suggested. ‘Why? They’re so sma-‘ Nico quickly clamped her mouth shut.

Nozomi sighed. ‘Size isn’t everything, Nicocchi.’ Nico scoffed, with good reason. ‘Yeah, says the girl with those. Those. Seriously, how are they even possible?’ Nozomi gave a mischievous smirk. 

‘Is Nicocchi curious about my breasts?’ ‘What? No. There’s no way that…’

Nico instinctively flinched as Nozomi stretched her arm out. To Nico’s surprise, however, it wasn’t her chest that Nozomi went grasping for. It was her wrist. A gentle hand guided Nico’s own to its intended target.

‘Wow,’ was all Nico could manage. Soft, yet firm. So nicely pliable. So big. So warm. Nico’s curiosity indeed got the better of her, as she couldn’t resist squeezing softly with her fingers.

‘Kyaa!’

No way, thought Nico. Nozomi did not just- Wait, why is she averting her gaze? Why is she blushing? Why is she covering her mouth with her hand whilst looking embarrassed? Why is Nico’s heart beating so much faster now?

Nozomi stammered, ‘T-That was unexpected, Nicocchi.’ ‘Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,’ Nico admitted, before a sudden realization struck. ‘Wait, why am I apologizing? You do this to me all the time.’ ‘That’s… true, actually.’ Nozomi conceded ruefully.

Nico’s thoughts instantly turned to payback. Nozomi would finally realize just how terrible she’d been all those years. Didn’t she say that touching wasn’t so bad, after all? 

Nico squeezed again, harder this time. ‘Ah! N-Nicocchi!’

Nico gasped; were breasts always this amazing?

‘I think I’m in love, Nozomi.’ ‘I really wish you weren’t talking about my breasts, Nicocchi...’ Nico shrugged. ‘One step at a time.’ ‘Shouldn’t it be the other way aroun- Kya?!’

Nico could feel Nozomi’s body quivering through her own hands. She licked her lips in satisfaction.

‘I could get used to doing this.’ ‘Nicocchi, you pervert!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably too short, but honestly, I don't know what to add. The only thing that comes to mind is just expanding how amazing Nozomi's breasts feel to Nico. I probably would've used the word 'elasticity' somewhere...


	12. μ’s - Poker Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Umi is bad at poker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, an apology for having formatted my dialogue weirdly all along. I honestly never knew that was a thing, since I've only started writing stories quite recently and I've spent more time looking over textbooks instead of real ones. I still think it looks weird when read on a screen, but I'll abide by those conventions in the future. 
> 
> Secondly, you'll need to have some basic knowledge about Texas hold'em to enjoy this as intended.

It’s strange, Umi thinks. It’s fundamentally a game of chance. So why can’t she win a single hand of hold’em?

Honoka deals the cards amongst them. Umi peeks under the expertly lifted corners of her cards. Pocket aces. She allows herself the briefest of smirks before reprimanding herself and slipping into her practiced, stoic mask. The other members laugh for some reason, causing her to look up. How unseemly, Umi thinks. Have they never heard of the expression ‘poker face’? She turns her attention back to the cards.

She’s playing from the big blind, so she can check what’s going on around her before she decides what to do. No reason to try anything fancy here. She looks up as her competitors begin. Rin folds. Hanayo folds. Maki folds. Nico folds. That’s strange, why is everyone folding? It’s all over before Umi gets to play. She gets a pittance from the small antes and a glorious opportunity is wasted.

‘Why?’ Umi whispers to herself. Could they have somehow known that she had such a good hand? No, that’s impossible. Her cards were scarcely lifted. Wait, why were they all laughing earlier? Do they have a camera on her cards or something? She realizes that she’s probably just being paranoid, but shifts her body to block the angle regardless.

Another hand is dealt. Umi grimaces; internally, of course. There’s not much that you can do with 2-7 off-suit. Umi decides to try her luck anyway and goes for a bluff. She’s playing against Kotori, Honoka, Maki and Nozomi, being the others to make their calls.

The flop is drawn. Ace-Jack-10, all of hearts. A little unusual, but not unreasonable.

Nozomi’s the first to play. ‘Let’s see what the cards are telling me…’

‘Don’t get them mixed up like last time. That was awful to sort out.’

‘Quiet, Nicocchi. Hmmm…’ She turns to her tarot deck placed close to her on the table and carefully shuffles it before drawing the first card. She looks at it and shakes her head. ‘No good, I’m afraid. I fold.’

Maki’s turn. The second worst performer on chips so far. Umi’s currently the worst, but she attributes this to bad luck (and suspicions of cheating).

Nico’s smirking for some reason. ‘Remember our own little game between us, Maki-chan? How someone was so confident that they’d beat me that they’d agreed to a punishment game for the loser?’

Maki blushes. ‘S-Shut up, Nico-chan! You’re distracting me.’

‘Is that your excuse for being crap at cards?’

Maki shakes her head in annoyance. ‘I’ll make you regret that, Nico-chan.’

Nico leans to Maki’s ear and whispers, ‘Nico’s fine with doing anything you want if you win.’

Maki blushes even further, but seems to gain some unusual determination. ‘I’ll check, then.’

‘Hold on, we could check?’ Nozomi asks incredulously.

Rin giggles. ‘Obviously, nya!’

Nico snickers, ‘That’s what happens when you rely on those stupid cards.’

Eli places a reassuring arm around the spiritual girl. ‘It’s okay. It just means that you would’ve folded anyway.’

Nozomi beams and snuggles further into Eli’s arm. ‘I guess you’re right, Elicchi.’ Nico gags at the familiar sight of her fellow third years becoming entirely too close with each other.

‘It’s my turn!’ Honoka declares with pride. She lifts her cards off the table and stares at them intensely a few inches from her face. Umi cringes at her lack of basic poker tact. ‘I fold!’

‘Shouldn’t you check, Honoka-chan?’ Hanayo helpfully suggests.

Honoka quizzically tilts her head to one side. ‘We could check?’

There is a collective groan. Umi shakes her head in disbelief and wonders how it is possible to be losing to these people.

Umi plays next. She maintains her perfectly crafted plan of a bluff. She keeps her voice calm and steady as she states with just the right amount of confidence, ‘I’m all-in.’

‘It’s Kotori’s turn!’ chirps the girl with a penchant for referring to herself in third person. She carefully studies Umi’s face for a few seconds, and Umi reflexively flinches. ‘Umi-chan, I’m sorry!’ Kotori goes all-in and Umi gasps in horror. Very quietly, she tells herself. Maki folds straight after, and the remaining two go into the showdown after the turn and river, respectively being 3 and 4 of diamonds.

‘I was bluffing,’ admits Umi as her pathetic hand is shown first. There is a distinct lack of reaction amongst the other members, which she didn’t expect. ‘Um, isn’t anyone surprised?’

‘Not really, nya.’ Rin says whilst she stifles a yawn.

‘I think it would be helpful if you stay away from casinos, Umi-chan.’ Hanayo kindly states.

‘And online sites as well, just to be safe.’ Eli adds.

‘Why?’ asks Umi in genuine confusion.

‘Ahem.’ Kotori pouts at the lack of attention being paid to her. ‘I haven’t revealed my cards yet.’

Nico scoffs loudly, ‘Come on, we know you’ve won.’

‘Hmph!’ Kotori flips her cards over in mock frustration and there are several yells of excitement. Queen and King, both of hearts, making a royal straight flush.

Honoka screams, ‘That’s ridiculous, Kotori-chan!’

Maki sighs in relief. ‘Lucky I folded.’

‘Did you cheat?’ suggests Nico before receiving a pinch on the cheek from Eli. ‘Ow.’

Kotori smiles and breaks into a giggle, as cute as ever. ‘I guess you could say that your hearts belong to Kotori now!’

There is another collective groan, deservedly louder than before.

Umi smiles to herself as she whispers amongst the din of voices, ‘It already did, Kotori.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically speaking, Kotori won pretty much straight away and never needed to stare at Umi. She just did it anyway. Sadly, I couldn't work in the idea at the end without making it sound awkward (to me, at least).


	13. Umi-centric Soldier Game thing - Umi Royale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Love Live! Week: Day 6 – Yellow Poppy (Success)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An understanding of Texas hold ‘em terminology will help in reading this.  
> A homage of sorts to jstonedd – I wanted Umi playing poker which led to wanting a cool Soldier Game trio, which somehow led to this. (Not that it’s anywhere near as good, of course.)

Ensuring μ’s future success required money: for choreographers to assist Eli, for arrangers and musicians to make Maki’s compositions and fabric and equipment for Kotori’s designs. And where would they get that money from? The answer was obvious.

High-stakes gambling.

Umi, Maki and Eli were recruited for the task, judged to be best suited for the job by Chairwoman Minami herself. She of course understood the importance of μ’s to the future of Otonokizaka and approved the plan with school funding. It was more like a business decision to her. But she required some insurance before signing off on things.

The miniature transmitter and receiver earpiece bought by Maki was one such investment. The other was a book entitled “Hacking Security Cameras from your Phone for Dummies”.

The plan they hatched was simple enough: have one person at the table with the receiver in her ear receive instructions from the other two with the camera feed. By holding up their cards higher than usual from the table to be caught on camera, this allowed three clever and cute girls to do the number-crunching and tactical play instead of one. They could also observe the body language of their competitors to find patterns and tell when they were bluffing.

Maki was strong at mathematics, studying to be a doctor and all. She was thus a natural choice for understanding the probability based game. She was also a formidable opponent in her own right (so long as Nico wasn’t anywhere nearby to ruin her concentration and put her on tilt).

Eli was part Russian. She was therefore automatically good at gambling.

But Umi was the weak spot, and all of them knew as much. She could play poker; that is to say, she knew the rules and understood what was a good and bad hand. She was even good at understanding probabilities on the fly since she was so diligent and studious. As long as she was kept away from the table and strategizing over the transmitter instead, she was a great member of the team.

The problem was, well, her face. Her complete lack of a poker face, to be precise. That was the problem which required solving, because it was now her turn to participate at the table itself.

With their successes, Maki and Eli were now well known to the local casino for their exploits. They could conceal their age via make-up and the way they dressed, but their voice and personality were harder to mask after. So, even with some misgivings on everyone’s part, Umi was installed as their replacement. They simply needed the money.

Sunglasses were a start for Umi, but everyone else wore them too. Thus Maki’s idea of the disposable mask was approved by 2 to 1.

With black suit, blue tie and obligatory dark poker sunglasses, Umi makes her way to the special sanctum of the casino reserved for the highest of rollers and VIPs. It reeks with opulence. Sitting at the centre of the table, she reluctantly brings the mask onto her face, and is met with a few stares of bewilderment.

The opponents surrounding her are men in suits. Sunglasses. Nothing else worth describing.

With their own tailored black suits and ties matching their hair, Eli and Maki access the disused part of the casino still under renovation, where they are sure not to be disturbed whilst remaining close enough for the hack.

The dealer shuffles the deck and the game begins. Umi receives her cards and lifts them off the table slightly, knowing where the camera is positioned over her shoulder.

Eli’s voice enters Umi’s right ear. ‘Okay, first we’re going to need to draw people into a false sense of security with some small losses.’

Umi is scandalised. This is a different strategy from usual, and no one said anything about losing on purpose beforehand.

She had the honour of the Sonoda name, and she would be damned if she would give in to such poor sportsmanship (conveniently ignoring the fact that she was already cheating in the first place).

She was going to try and win by herself.

Except she lost all of the first eight hands.

Poker is like that sometimes.

‘Good job, Umi,’ Eli says encouragingly over the transmitter.

Umi rests her head against the table in disbelief.

She recovers as the next hand comes in. 2-7 off-suit. Umi knows that it’s the worst starting hand and moves to fold.

Eli’s voice comes in again. ‘Wait. We’ll bluff on this one.’

Maki’s voice emerges after the transmitter is passed over. ‘I agree with Eli.’

Umi gives the smallest of shrugs and goes with their decision. Thankfully, no one can see the nervous twitching of her face behind the mask. She bets and enters the flop with three opponents joining her.

A large raise by one man following the flop is enough to scare the other two into folding. Umi has a decision to make – bet or fold as well. She pauses, listening for instructions from the receiver concealed beneath her hair.

‘Okay,’ Maki says into the transmitter. ‘There’s two diamonds on the board, so he’s trying to make us think he can get a flush. But we have one of those diamonds as well and another has been burned before. He’s probably bluffing.’

Umi trusts Maki’s decision, doing just enough to suppress the shaking of her hands and pushes a stack of chips towards the dealer. The man folds after a long stare down. Umi is glad they purchased the darkest set of sunglasses they could find.

Another hand is dealt. A pair of Nines is enough to entice Umi to call into the flop, with three others joining her.

The flop is King of Spades, King of Diamonds and Three of Hearts.

Similar to before, one opponent makes a large raise now, obviously suggesting that they have at least one King of their own. Umi would prefer to fold, but hesitates on her turn. Something didn’t feel right, but she couldn’t tell what. She knows that Eli will pick up the transmitter and help her.

Eli takes a closer look at her phone and indeed speaks into the transmitter after. ‘It’s not right. That guy always rubs his neck when he isn’t bluffing. Trying to be clever. But he isn’t, and he’s not cute as well. Make a raise, because he didn’t do that.’

It’s a good spot and Umi trusts it. So that’s what her feeling was. All the opponents are forced into folding, with Umi increasing her lead.

Another hand. Umi makes the decision to call with Queen and Three, both of Hearts. The flop shows Queen of Diamonds, King of Clubs and Nine of Hearts. One man bets, which both Umi and another call to see the river card, a King of Spades.

The man who bet before now checks. It’s bait - an attempt to induce Umi into betting so he can re-raise after, and Umi knows as much.

Umi checks instead along with the other man, and folds as they both go all-in on the turn card, a Two of Hearts. Not worth risking. Both Eli and Maki know that Umi can handle as much without any distraction.

With the continued assistance of sunglasses, a cheap mask and completely shameless cheating, Umi finds herself with both a large lead and one opponent left.

The man sitting to her left stands up, preparing to move the heads-up position at the opposite end of the table. But before that happens, he whispers into Umi’s ear.

‘I know who you are, Umi Sonoda. And I know the little game you and the others have been playing. So why don’t you get rid of that mask and transmitter before I tell everyone you’ve been cheating?’

For a second, Umi falters. She quickly runs through some possibilities in her head, but there’s only one conclusion. She removes the mask from her face and transmitter from her ear discreetly, pocketing them in her trousers. She even removes her sunglasses, placing them on the table just to make the point. ‘I… I don’t need them anyway,’ she says with an entirely false bravery.

Her bravado earns a chuckle from her opponent.

Eli and Maki can only watch their phone in silence, an awful feeling setting in.

Now on equal footing, Umi’s lead gets whittled away through a string of losses, and her face becomes more despairing each time. This guy is good. They’re nearly equal on chips now.

Umi knows that if she loses the lead, she loses the game because of the skill disparity - she’ll keep losing more often than not, and her opponent can pick his battles from that point. All she can do is go all-in and get lucky while she still has the advantage.

She takes a nervous peek under the next dealt cards, even though she has to play them anyway. ‘A-A-All-in.’

She can nearly see the eye-roll shaded behind the man’s glasses as he replies the same.

Having both gone all-in, they show their cards. Umi makes a grim expression as she sees her opponent’s hand: Ace of Clubs and Queen of Spades. A good start for him, compared to the 9 and 3, both of Spades which Umi is forced into playing.

The flop is drawn. 10 and Jack, both of Spades, and a 9 of Hearts. Umi inhales deeply. She has a pair of nines now – decent; but there’s many more possibilities with the cards on show.

The turn is then placed on the table. Umi could never hide a grimace, but her look is nothing short of tragic right now. This draws another laugh from the man.

‘King of Hearts, huh? How ironic. What’s your catchphrase again? I’ll shoot everyone’s heart with my love arrow?’ A smirk emerges. ‘You might want to change it after this.’

Umi grits her teeth. ‘It’s not over.’

Her opponent has an Ace-high straight.

Umi has nothing but hope and a chance best described as miniscule.

The final card is flipped.

Ace of Spades.

And as Umi rightly says with a broad grin on her face, ‘A flush beats a straight, I’m afraid.’

For the first time ever, it’s Umi who wins.

She blissfully jumps up and down before removing the winning card from the table and giving it an affectionate look up close. The single spade upon it looks just like an arrowhead. Wait, an arrow? Umi immediately realises something important. She reaches for her sunglasses placed on the table before removing her smirk, taking a serious look at her crestfallen opponent.

‘I guess you could say that your heart,’ she puts on her sunglasses, ‘just got shot.’

‘Yeahhh!’ scream Eli and Maki as they burst into the room, hugging Umi tightly.

With her win, success had been brought. Both for Umi right now and for μ’s future.


	14. NozoKoto - washi-washi request

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request: Can you write a Kotori x Nozomi where the latter did a washi-washi on Kotori for something which ended up turning Kotori's S switch on?

The washi-washi was inflicted upon wrongdoers as punishment. Retribution.

That’s what Nozomi likes to think anyway, as she stalks her prey beginning to walk towards the rooftop door at the end of practice. They’re the last ones there, and Nozomi licks her lips at the happy coincidence, because it ensures that there are no disruptions to what happens next.

Eyeing up her mark from behind, the unmistakable long, ashen hair of the second-year waves in the breeze. She remains completely unaware of her decided fate.

Her crime?

Making Nozomi’s skirt too short. For reference, Nozomi would have accepted showing some cleavage instead. She was rightly proud of those puppies. But that extra half-inch of exposed thigh was a half-inch too much, and she noticed it straight away.

Taking a few bounding steps, Nozomi strikes.

‘Kyaaa!’

They’re soft, supple, and surprisingly large – definitely top-tier, Nozomi thinks. That said, Nozomi can, and does, enjoy breasts of all shapes and sizes. Nico was the main target of her punishment, after all.

After shouts and squeals (only mostly from the wrongdoer), Nozomi eventually releases her target. Kotori pants heavily from the attack, and Nozomi admires her own handiwork with a smile. The one thing that surprises Nozomi is that Kotori never said stop. Isn’t that what they’re all meant to say?

Kotori turns to face the other girl. She’s mostly recovered, though still panting slightly. The spiritual side of Nozomi feels a sense of danger at what she sees.

Kotori’s expression is truly frightening. That’s because it looks exactly like usual: a smile, wide open amber eyes and a look which seems almost as if… she’s plotting something?

‘You shouldn’t grope people, Nozomi.’ She almost sings the words with that voice of hers. That’s what makes it so absolutely sinister.

‘I…’ The words catch in Nozomi’s throat, struck by how… not angry Kotori sounds right now. And yet, her spiritual sense of danger sounds like a siren in her head. She heeds the flashing warning signs instead of doing her usual teasing. ‘I’m sorry, Kotori-chan.’

Kotori giggles. ‘There’s nothing to be sorry for.’

Nozomi almost sighs in relief.

‘It just means Kotori can do the same, right?’

Nozomi blinks, wondering if she heard correctly. In that time, she loses sight of Kotori, and she does a double take. She doesn’t see that Kotori is actually standing right behind her now, hands clawed and already aimed at their target.

Kotori grabs the fleshiest part she can.

‘K-Kotori!’ Nozomi screeches as the roles become reversed. ‘Ahhn!’

Kotori hums to herself as Nozomi’s squeals fill the air. It’s good to have a such a close examination for once – it might help with designing Nozomi’s costumes in the future.

After what seems like hours, Nozomi realises the words she needs to say. ‘Kotori-chan, please! Stop!’

Kotori does so, releasing her grasp. Nozomi stumbles a few steps away before turning to look at Kotori in shock.

‘Is that it, Nozomi?’ Kotori’s voice drops a fraction, and its bubbly tone disappears. ‘That’s a little disappointing.’ Her expression fades to a frown. ‘I never asked you to stop when you did. And you never stop when Nico-chan or the others ask.’

‘I, ummm…’ As she thinks back on things, Nozomi realises that it’s indeed herself who’s in the wrong this time. She did have to say sorry, after all. And the washi-washi was a sacred instrument of justice. Any other outcome now would be hypocritical. She finds herself reluctantly admitting, ‘I suppose you’re right, Kotori-chan.’

Hope instantly returns to her voice. ‘So Kotori can do more?’

Nozomi has no option but to fall on her sword. ‘O-Okay.’

‘Yay!’

Nozomi instantly regrets her decision as she sees a strange flash in Kotori’s eyes.

‘You know, Kotori only made Nozomi’s skirt shorter, not any of the others.’

Nozomi feels her body squirming.

‘And Kotori knows that Nozomi uses the washi-washi for punishment when someone does something wrong.’ Kotori meets Nozomi’s frightened gaze directly. ‘What does that mean, I wonder?’

Nozomi’s look becomes even more horrified. ‘You set all this up from the start?’

‘Correct!’ Kotori chirps.

Nozomi’s only thought is where did the sweet, non-gropy Kotori disappear off to? She hopes that the old Kotori would return soon. Preferably within the next ten seconds. So although everything within her is telling Nozomi to run, she simply retreats until her back meets the wall. Kotori cuts off the angle between her and the only exit.

‘So this means you’ll now feel what Kotori and the others felt?’ Kotori’s smile now transforms into something more devilish. ‘That’s good.’

Nozomi’s eyes widen in abject terror.

Kotori takes a step forwards with that same, happy, terrifying expression. And then another. And another.

Nozomi feels herself slinking down the wall as Kotori slowly reaches out with her arms.

‘Kotori will make you her snack!’

Her fingers are long, warm and on target, and Nozomi gasps as they begin their work. Kotori wonders if this is what Heaven feels like.

Nozomi shudders at the sound of something becoming unclasped. ‘How did you just take off my- Kyaaa!’


	15. Request - μ’s second-years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request: Would you do a one-short about muses going to karaoke to try out some classic romantic song the next day after they got the keywords at the end of s2e8. They decide to play a game: rock paper scissors to decide the order; who wins will decide who the loser sing the song to a specific person, in which the songs are picked at random in a box. What would happened if Honoka wins and Umi lost and she choose Umi to sing "Unchained Melody" to Kotori; Honoka sang "always on my mind" to Umi?

Whilst they settle into the opposite benches separated by a table, Eli stands in front of the large screen at the head of the room. She claps twice to get their attention.

‘Okay. You know the rules, and so do I, but I’ll explain them anyway since there’s three idiots here who never listen.’

‘Hey!’ Nico, Honoka and Rin shout at the same time.

‘I never said who those idiots were.’

‘Oh,’ Nico, Honoka and Rin say at the same time.

Eli rubs her forehead before continuing. ‘The rules are simple. It’s basically the King’s Game with a few changes. In one box, we have nine pieces of paper. One of these is a winner, one is a loser. The loser has to sing and dedicate their song to a person chosen by the winner. To keep things fair, we rotate who starts off with this box.’

Everyone in the room nods, humming their assent. Satisfied with the response, Eli continues.

‘The winner then gets to draw from a second box, which has a whole bunch of songs written down on their own piece for the loser to sing. Of course, they’re all classic songs about love. Is everybody clear?’

‘Yep!’

Eli smiles. ‘Great. Let’s begin, then.’

The pink box containing nine pieces of paper is grabbed from the table by Rin, who passes it to Hanayo to start the game.

After retrieving a piece from the box when it’s passed to her by Nico, Umi makes her trademark grimace. ‘I lost.’

‘Oh, as usual then.’

Umi’s grimace turns into a glare at Honoka, who lets out an ‘eep!’ in response.

Honoka now grins when the box is given to her by Kotori. ‘I won!’

‘Who sings to who, Honoka-chan?’ Rin asks, embracing her role as the gamemaster.

Honoka closes her eyes, humming and thinking vigorously for a few moments. ‘Then… Umi-chan can sing to Kotori-chan!’

Nico sighs. ‘The second-years are off in their own world again.’

Rin happily hands Honoka the purple box containing the songs. Again humming to herself as does so, Honoka places her hand in and draws. ‘Ah!’

‘What did you get, Honoka?’ Maki asks.

Honoka pronounces the syllables carefully, ‘Unchained Melody.’

‘A true classic.’ Nozomi nods in approval.

Rin can’t hide her anticipation. ‘Do your best Umi-chan, nya!’

Nozomi passes the microphone across the desk to Umi, who walks to take centre stage with a serious expression on her face. It’s not her nature to do this half-heartedly, but there might also be something else on her mind reflected in the stiffness of her movement. And in the way she looks right at Kotori before the music plays.

Her voice is as beautiful as ever. Delicate but strong, she sings the words like she means them, gracefully lilting over the early sections with care. The falsetto at the end is delivered with both power and emotion. The song suits Umi perfectly.

Hanayo claps rapidly and doesn’t hide her admiration. ‘Amazing, Umi-chan!’

Maki gives a genuine smile. ‘As good as always.’

Nozomi proudly puffs her chest. ‘Lily White, everyone.’

Kotori giggles. ‘As expected of Umi-chan.’

‘Not bad, I guess.’

Seven people glare at Nico.

‘Okay, it was incredible.’

Umi finds herself blushing from everyone’s praise. ‘T-Thanks.’

Rin has the broadest smile of them all in saying, ‘Time for round two, nya!’

The pink box starts from Maki now, passing it to Nico next to her. It then reaches the second-years again, Umi being the first of them. She sees her blank piece, and gives it to Kotori who looks at the part she retrieves.

‘Kotori wins!’ chirps the girl who likes referring to herself in third person. Everyone in the room can’t help but give her a fond look.

Kotori passes the box to Honoka and that fond look disappears.

‘Awww. I lost this time.’

‘Serves you right,’ Umi says, her face straight.

‘Umi-chan!’ Honoka whines and flails her arms around like a windmill.

‘What’ll it be this time?’ Rin asks curiously.

A pause.

‘Honoka-chan can sing to Umi-chan.’

Nico doesn’t hide a scoff. ‘Second-years again.’

Eli and Nozomi form serious looks, their lips closed tightly. It does seem a bit unusual. Umi and Honoka already had a turn before and Umi is puzzled because of this.

‘Are you sure, Kotori?’

Kotori nods. ‘I’m sure.’

Honoka makes a quizzical look of her own. ‘I don’t mind, but why, Kotori-chan?’

Kotori gives that usual disarming smile of hers as she says, ‘There’s no special reason.’

‘Time for the song, nya!’ Rin either doesn’t notice the strange atmosphere beginning to form, or tries to break it deliberately with her cheerful nature. She hands Kotori the purple box.

Kotori draws and reads it out. ‘Always On My Mind.’

‘Do you know this, Honoka-chan?’ asks Hanayo to her fellow Printemps member.

‘Yeah.’ Honoka’s voice is quieter than usual. ‘I know it.’

Honoka stands and slowly walks to the same spot Umi had, microphone in hand. The music plays.

A song which might be sappy in the hands of another vocalist turns into something special. It’s raw, but Honoka has pure expression in every word she sings. It’s the best she’s ever sung and it comes in a karaoke room with eight other girls, who become mesmerised at the sight and sound of what she’s truly capable of.

The song ends and there is silence as the audience looks at each other, waiting for the cue to applaud. They share their hesitation instead and don’t begin at all.

Nozomi notices something off in the look Honoka now makes. ‘Honoka?’

‘Is something wrong?’ Umi asks with evident concern in her voice.

‘No.’ Honoka wipes away a single tear as it falls down her cheek, before meeting Umi’s eyes with a gentle smile. ‘I think I have a name for this feeling now.’

Honoka makes that same smile when they perform Snow Halation several days later.


	16. NicoMaki - Courage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things get pretty meta. Or, Nico is introduced to the concept of rarepairs.
> 
> Written for Love Live! Week: Day 2 – Edelweiss (Courage)

Nico sits in the dark clubroom, the computer in front of her the only light source as she giggles and admires the images that she scrolls through on the screen. For lack of better words, it’s a little bit creepy.

This routine repeats for 15 minutes, until the lights to the clubroom are switched on, bathing the room with artificial light. Nico squints and turns to the intruder. ‘Nozomi.’

‘Nicocchi.’ Nozomi gives a small wave. ‘What are you doing?’

Nico gestures at the computer, and Nozomi hums.

‘Why was it dark before, Nicocchi?’

‘I was replicating that scene.’

Nozomi nods. ‘Did something happen, Nicocchi? It’s unusual for you to still be here.’ Nozomi had been held up with Student Council work, so she had a valid excuse at least.

‘Well…’ Nico scratches the back of her neck. ‘It’s more like it’s always been there and I just found it.’

‘Let me see…’ Nozomi walks across the room, looking over Nico’s shoulder to observe the computer monitor. She smiles to herself. ‘So you’ve discovered NicoMaki.’ A question hits Nozomi’s mind after saying that. ‘I thought you researched idols all the time, though?’

‘Yeah, actual idols. Not the fan made stuff.’

‘Ah.’ That made sense at least. Nozomi understands why Nico would be searching for works putting herself and Maki together, and smiles softly at the thought. ‘You’re still planning on asking Maki-chan out, right?’

‘O-Of course.’ Nico’s still understandably nervous just thinking about it. That said, it’s still unusual for Nico - she’s always full of confidence, or bravado at least. But really, who could be confident when it comes to that? And would you want to be with someone who was?

Nico clears her throat before continuing, ‘So seeing all these pictures of Maki-chan and I makes me really happy right now. And the cute stories as well.’

Nozomi grins again. It was pretty adorable of Nico to do, after all.

That grin then fades into something pensive. Nozomi debates internally whether to bring her thought up at all. She eventually figures that it’s better for Nico to learn it now rather than afterwards. ‘Nicocchi, you know that there’s more than NicoMaki out there, right?’

Nico makes a questioning look. ‘What do you mean?’

Nozomi rubs the back of her neck, and chooses not to be subtle. ‘Maki-chan is really popular to be shipped with the rest of μ’s.’

‘Impossible,’ says Nico. ‘Doesn’t everyone know that Maki-chan should be grateful the Number One Idol in the Universe likes her?’

‘Nicocchi.’

Nico crosses her arms. ‘Isn’t it slightly true at least?’ Nozomi sighs before forming her hands into a claw shape. Nico gives a panicked yelp, and instantly gives in. ‘Fine, fine! I still don’t get it though. How could Maki-chan be shipped with Eli, for starters?’ Nico decides to begin with what she considers the strongest competition.

‘The BiBi connection, of course.’

‘Ah.’ It was kinda obvious. ‘Then how about Umi?’

‘Soldier Game, although that goes for Elicchi as well. Also, they spend a lot of time together writing music and lyrics.’

Nico rubs her forehead, a headache setting in. ‘And you, Nozomi?’

‘The beach episode.’ A pause, before Nozomi breaks into a smile. ‘Does Nicocchi rank me that highly? I’m flattered!’

Nico makes a dismissive wave of her hand. ‘Forget it. Hanayo?’

‘Maki helped her join μ’s in the first place, remember?’

‘Rin?’

‘She’s probably your strongest opponent, Nicocchi. Beat in Angel, and they swapped outfits in that other episode. The first years also have an OT3.’

‘Seriously?!’ That’s kinda wild. Being put against two suitors at once might be too much to overcome, even for Nico. ‘Honoka, then?’

‘Actually, a surprising amount of stuff is out there. So is the content.’

Nico shakes her head. ‘There can’t be any connection between Maki-chan and Kotori.’

‘It’s rare, but it exists, Nicocchi.’

Nozomi notices the uneasy look now etched on Nico’s face. It’s a shock for her to learn, and Nico can’t help but question herself knowing that there might be seven strong competitors so close to hand.

Curiosity then gets the better of Nico. It’s a slightly self-absorbed question to want to ask. But, of course, Nico is Nico. She’s vain enough to ask anyway. ‘Who do I get shipped with? Apart from Maki-chan?’

The answer isn’t as obvious to her. So just to be sure, Nozomi pulls out her phone and begins checking the usual sites.

‘Okay, so you and I are pretty much the second most popular pair involving you, Nicocchi.’

Nico doesn’t hide an annoyed ‘Tch!’

Nozomi hums to herself at the thought. ‘I do think we could make a good pair, though.’

Nico agrees, though she’d rather bite off her own tongue than say as much.

‘There’s OT3s of us third-years as well.’

Nico places a hand to her chin. ‘That’s understandable, I guess…’

‘You get shipped with Umi sometimes.’

‘Well, she is cute. And we have that Milky Holmes thing too.’

‘Honoka too. Although…’ Nozomi makes a small frown and whispers the rest into Nico’s ear.

Nico’s eyes widen. ‘They think she has a what?!’

Nozomi wrings her hands together. ‘I mean, it’s fine, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah. It’s still a shock though.’ It seems Nico is surprisingly pure.

A realisation strikes Nozomi. ‘Oh. There’s also a few where Maki has a-‘

Nico clutches her hands to her face. ‘Stop.’

‘And Umi as well.’

‘Nozomi, please.’

‘And sometimes even Nicocchi!’

‘That’s a joke, right?’ Nozomi hands over her phone. Nico groans. It’s no(t) joke.

Seeing the haunted look on Nico’s face, Nozomi retrieves her phone and changes the topic. ‘Really, people will ship any two or more of us together, for any reason, and that’s perfectly fine.’

Nico nods. ‘Of course. They’re the fans, after all. And an idol has to please her fans.’

‘You’re still in character?’ Nozomi makes a surprised expression, before returning to the subject by gently resting a hand on Nico’s shoulder. ‘So you shouldn’t worry so much about Maki-chan, Nicocchi.’

Nico is less convinced as she has a second thought. ‘There’s so much angst as well…’

‘Nicocchi. Have some confidence in yourself.’

* * *

If Nico was unconvinced before, she’s even less so after she delves deeper following the discussion.

So many things that she didn’t notice before have been picked up on. And even the completely made up stuff makes sense as well. Nico thinks that all those people are amazing for what they’ve done, but she can’t shake a troubled feeling which enters her heart after seeing and reading their works.

Of course everyone could like Maki.

Of course Maki might like them back.

Why did Nico ever think she might’ve been special? Why would Maki like her more than the others in the first place?

Asking her might even ruin what they already have, for her and everyone else.

She loses the courage she had when she learns that.

* * *

A depressed look doesn’t suit anybody, but it looks especially out of place on Nico as Maki finds her slumped over her usual place at the clubroom desk. It was the pleasant afternoon of the next day, but there didn’t seem to be anything happy on Nico’s mind.

‘Nico-chan?’ Maki’s voice shows concern. ‘What’s wrong?’

Nico raises her hand briefly to acknowledge the question without looking up. ‘It’s nothing,’ she says, voice muffled against the table.

It’s very clearly not “nothing”, but that’s all Nico is willing to offer for the moment. Maki bites her lip, wondering what best to say. She decides upon, ‘Nozomi told me what happened yesterday.’

‘Oh.’

There is no further reaction from Nico.

Maki decides to go with the softest approach she can. The only thing which can get Nico to be this docile is something that she wouldn’t like anyway. She places a reassuring hand on Nico’s shoulder, and Nico lets it out after a few minutes.

‘Maki-chan gets shipped with everybody, and it makes sense.’ She sniffles. ‘Maki-chan really is amazing.’ She whispers into the table again so that Maki can’t hear her next words.

‘Nico-Nii doesn’t deserve her.’

Even if she couldn’t hear it, Maki sees tears forming in Nico’s eyes, and her heart drops. She gives a sympathetic sigh, before using her other hand to gently brush at the smaller girl’s eyes.

‘Come on, Nico-chan. You were right from the start, and I’m pretty sure everyone already knows it in their heart anyway.’

Nico looks up with a quizzical expression. ‘Everyone knows what?’

‘That NicoMaki is the best ship.’

That was both a surprise and downright embarrassing to say out loud, and Maki blushes. She doesn’t see Nico doing the same, pressing her head against the table again.

The room goes still until Maki smiles, finding the courage to say something she normally wouldn’t. Nico could do with some cheering up.

‘So hurry up and ask me out already, Nico-chan.’

Nico finds the courage to do just that.


End file.
